Opinion Urges 10-Fold Bezos Tax Hike After He Says Doubling Taxes Won’t Help Teachers
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 20
Opinion Urges 10-Fold Bezos Tax Hike After He Says Doubling Taxes Won’t Help Teachers
2 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 20
A USA Today opinion column argues Jeff Bezos’s taxes should be raised 10-fold—or even 20-fold—after he told CNBC that doubling what he pays would not help a teacher in Queens.
Bezos said Americans can debate making him pay “more billions,” but insisted higher taxes on him would not solve broader problems; the column counters that taxing billionaires more would at least reduce income inequality.
The piece cites Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy data, based on ProPublica reporting, saying Bezos paid a 0.98% true effective tax rate from 2014 to 2018, reported $4.2 billion in income and saw $99 billion in wealth growth.
It adds that support for taxing the rich remains substantial, pointing to 52% backing in a March California poll for a one-time 5% billionaire tax and a Pew survey showing 58% favor higher taxes on household income above $400,000.
The broader argument is that soaring living costs, layoffs and visible wealth concentration are intensifying pressure for redistribution, with Bezos’s remarks becoming a fresh flashpoint in that debate.
Could taxing the super-rich backfire and actually shrink the US economy?
Is it even possible to fairly value and tax a billionaire’s complex assets every single year?
If not through taxes, how else can society bridge the massive gap between the rich and poor?